Re: Dr Beeching

["Barry S. Doe" <tbc002@argonet.co.uk>]

In article <36973881.6079802@news.freeserve.co.uk>,
news@nospam.freeserve.co.uk (Tony Polson) wrote:
> 
> Beeching's report was commissioned after vast
> amounts of
> taxpayers' money had been squandered on the Modernisation Plan to no
> avail.

It was not event investment. Many lines that could have survived (not just
for 30 years but for ever) like Brockenhurst-Wimborne-Poole and the S & D
down here, plus many others long-gone - were steam-hauled to the end and
with every station having several staff on three shifts. Had paytrains been
introduced it could have been very different -as East Anglia showed. 
It's too easy to look at the hopeless cases that indeed should never have
been built and assume that applied to all the closures. I guess some were
literally 20 times better thanothers, profitabibilty-wise.

> Money had to be found for building roads as car
> ownership
> boomed and car usage became more affordable.

Sorry, you missed my point. Car useage boomed as they became affordable, but
it should have been forseen that this would lead to today's situation and
everything should have been done to retain an alternative that would not
lead to despoiled country.

Actually it was easy: let congestion rule. Had the government said you can
travel as much as you like by car and we shall maintain the infrastructure
but we shall never allow roads to be widened etc, then congestion would have
been the thing that created its own balance. This is the current policy -
but it's too late. Had sense been seen earler we could have had a better
life because we would not have had motoroways and ruined villages.

> had to drive my car in 1998 on roads fit for the 1950s

Quite. So you would have kept to public transport - which CAN  cope with
large numbers - and we would have all had a better environment. Exactly my
point. That does not mean you would not have kept a car - you would have
grown up simply knowing how to use it. That is the problem with this country
nowadays. I use train first for everything but so many people never even
think of it even if they live near a station and want to go to London.

> Are you seriously suggesting that unlimited amounts of taxpayers' money
> should
> have been used to continue to pay for all these lines for 30 years or more
> until
> a possible use could be found for them? 

No. I am suggestion the better routes would have eventually required hardly
any subsidy. If we didn't have Railtrack and others making a profit today
and if railways were treated as roads (where are the accounts for British
Roads plc?) most would be break-even.

> Take off those rose tinted spectacles, please.  It's all too easy to make
> cheap
> points that will gain support from railway enthusiasts who (like me) mourn
> the
> passing of every station, line, loco or piece of rolling stock.  

I don't wear rose-tinted spectacles. I just know what could have been had
the government insisted that roads would not be improved simply because
railways can cope and roads could obviously never do so and would inevitably
lead to today's environment in a country as small as ours. With respect, all
your comments show you totally disagree with anything said in the White
Paper. I am no Labour supporter (they have never done anything for railways
in my opinion!) but it has to be said the White Paper's ideas are fine -
merely they would have been even better if said (and implemented) 30 years
ago.

I am not one of those people who wants everyone out of their cars so I have
more space to drive mine. I use trains first and where that is not possible,
buses or my cycle (round town). If none of those ispossible I use a taxi -
yet despite travelling abour 20000 miles pa all over Britain I had to use a
taxi only once last year where a bus was not available.

I am proud of that - even more proud of the fact that I do so despite the
fact I earn well above the average wage and could afford a e-type jag if I
wanted one. If I can have a good life-style this way so could several
million others if they thought out their position - and as a result we would
have a better and safer country.
 
> 

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